Windmill-regulator



(No Model.)

I. T. ZIMMERMAN.

WINDMILL REGULATOR.

No. 333,806. Patented Jan. 5, 1886.

N. PETERS. Phnwmhc m her, Wznhington, D. c.

NITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE.

FRANK T. ZIMMERMAN,

OF AUBURN, INDIANA.

WINDMILL-REGULAII'OR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 333,806, dated January 5, 1886.

Application filed August 28, 1885. Serial No. 175,580. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK T. ZIMMERMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Auburn, in the county of De Kalb and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in VVindrnill-Regulators; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to regulators for windmills used for pumping water, and has special reference to regulating devices which are de pendent for their action upon the height of water in a tank into which the mill pumps the water. Certain devices heretofore used for this purpose control the mill by a piston working in a cylinder, the piston being raised by the pressure of water after the latter has reached its maximum height in the tank. To this there are several objections. The piston itself offers such great resistance,by reason of friction, that it is difficult to operate it--in other words, a heavy pressure of water is required to raise the piston, and a counterbalancing-weight is required to return the piston in its downward stroke when the pressure of the water has been removed, in addition to forcing the water out of the cylinder and raising it into the tankmoreover, the frictional resistance of the piston has been found to vary so much in different machines that it is difficult to make a proper adjustment at the factory, and each machine itself varies so much in use that considerable allowance must be made for range of power, in order that the water may at all times raise the piston and the counterbalancing-weight return the same. This is objectionable, for the reason that it is desirable to make the action of the regulator as sensitive as may be. The piston must also necessarily allow the passage of more or less water about its circumference, particularly when slightly worn, thus producing more or less waste or drip into the well, which of course is obj ectiona-ble,particularly in drive wells, wherein said waste or drip fills the pit of the well. I

In practice it has been found that if the piston fits so closely as to allow no leakage, it is too hard to reciprocate, while if it is so loose as to reciprocate freely it will leak more or less.

Another objection to the use of the cylinder and piston aforesaid is the expense and care required in their manufacture. The piston itself must be made with precision and of a smooth rust-proof material, and the cylinder must be made with perfectly-regular walls and composed entirely of a rust-proof material,or be lined with brass, copper, porcelain, or other smooth rust-proof material.

By the use of the devices described belowl avoid the above-mentioned objections.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of my apparatus. 'Fig. 2 is a detail View of a modification.

A is the pump, having the piston-rod A extending upward to the wind-wheel.

B is a pipe extending from the pump to the tank D.

O is the regulator.

The reciprocating shaft A forces the water from thepump through thepipeB and through the valve D into the tank.

D is a lever pivoted between its ends, having one end connected with the valve D and the other with a float, d, which rises and falls as the water in the tank rises and falls, A pipe, 0, branches from the pipe 13, and has mounted upon its end the bowl-shaped plate, 0. Across this extends a rubber, leather, or other yielding diaphragm, G and upon this rests in turn a ring,O the edges of these three parts being bolted togetherin such manner as to form a sealed chamber between the plate 0 and the diaphragm C. Ashaft, c, is arranged perpendicularly to the diaphragm O and rests thereon with a flattened head. A lever, 0 is arranged transversely to the shaft 0, and is hinged thereto between its ends in such manner as to make foritself a short arm and a long arm. The short end of the lever c is hinged to a fixed seat on the regulator. On the opposite side of the regulator is fixed the bracket 0, to which is hinged, in the same plane with the lever c ,a lever, cfl havinga long arm at its outer end, and a short curved arm at itsinner end. To this short inner end the long end of the lever c" is joined by means of a link, a, or the two ends of these levers may be connected directly by a slotted joint.

Instead of the hinged connection of the levers just mentioned, I inayalso use a segmentgear connection, a suitable number of cogs being placed on the end of each lever,.as' illustrated in Fig. 2.

E is a chain, rope, or wire extending from the outer end of the lever c to the wheel above, where it connects with the ,usual and wellknown devices for throwing said wheel into and out of action.

The operation of the apparatusis as follows: When the water in .the tank has reached its maximum height, it lifts the float d and the long end of the bar D thereby closing the valve 1), whereupon the continued action of the pump causes an increased pressure of the water upon the diaphragm C and presses it upward, thereby raising the shaft 0, levers a, and the short end of the lever 0", thus throwing the long end of thelev'erc downward into the vertical position, and of course drawing the chain or wire E and throwing the mill out of gear. All the apparatus will now be held in this position until the water in the tank D has again been lowered, whereupon the valve D willagain open and allow the water to pass from thepipe B into the tank, thus again decreasing the pressure of water upon the diaphragm G The elasticity .of the diaphragm and the usual action of the wind-governor at the wheel will now restore the diaphragm and the levers connected therewith to their normal position, and again set the wheel and pump into action until such time as the tank shall again be filled to its maximum height. I thus avoid entirelyall leakage of water, while the metallic parts of my device can all be made of common cast or wrought iron without any finishing further than drilling holes for bolts. As there are no sliding parts which are actuated by the force of the water, there is no necessity of careful smoothing or packing, and there is no resistance by reason of friction; neither is there any material difference in the amount of water-pressure required to operate the different regulators made from the same patterns.

I amaware that it is not new to use in devices of this general description a cylinder and piston, and a flexible di phragm operated by fluid-pressure.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination,with the pump A, pipe B, tank D, and floatactuated valve D, of the plate 0, diaphragm G shaft 0, lever 0 lever c said levers being connected and operating as described, and wire orchain E, substantially as shownand described.

2. The combination of thepump A and pipe B, connected therewith and communicating at its opposite end with the tank D, having floatvalve D, with the plate 0, having flexible diaphragm 0 extended across it, the ring 0 the shaft 0, and lever 0 seated on one side of said ring and plate, and operated by said diaphragm, and lever 0 connected with lever c by link a, all combined and operating substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

RA Z MMEBlYlAN- Witnesses:

J U LIUS WAHL, OYRIJs K HR. 

